Device for dispensing emergency blankets



Aug. 14, 1962 A. CHAPPELLIER DEVICE FOR DISPENSING EMERGENCY BLANKET-S 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 22, 1960 FIG. 1.

IN VENTOR.

ANDRE CHAPPELLLER A T TOPNE X5 Aug. 14, 1962 A. CHAPPELLIER DEVICE FOR DISPENSING EMERGENCY BLANKETS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 22, 1960 FIG. 3.

INVENTOR. RE CHAP PE L L LEE AND BY cammm, M 9m ATTORNEYS United States Patent ()fiice 3,049,389 Patented Aug. 14, 1962 3,049,389 DEVICE FOR DISPENSING EMERGENCY BLANKETS Andr Chappellier, Paris, rance, assignor to Commissariat a lEnergie Atomique, Paris, France Filed Mar. 22, 1960, Ser. No. 16,842 Claims priority, application France Apr. 2, 1959 3 Claims. (Cl. 312-324) Several industries, because of their type of activity, entail for their personnel constant risks of accidental burns, and particularly burns through inflamed clothing. In the later type of accident, it is important that the person of whom the clothes are inflamed should not move so as to prevent an activation of the combustion, should lie on the ground to prevent the flames from reaching upward to the head and that the flames should be choked by appropriate means, the most effective of which appears to be an ordinary blanket. Unfortunately, it is often observed that the first reaction of a person involved in such an accident, is to run from the spot where it occurred to the usual exit of the place of work.

Further, several accidents, or even simple indispositions, require that the person involved be carried away in a lying position. In such cases a blanket is always necessary.

The means for fighting against such accidents, if any are foreseen, are generally located in the fire emergency stations or in the first aid posts, which are often remote and to which the panic stricken person does not think of running to. As for the witnesses of the accident, they must generally run to these locations or improvise on the spot a fight against the fire with haphazard means, all of which lead to an unavoidable and most regrettable loss of time.

It is a well known fact that in fighting against any type of fire, the sooner the better, since both damages and difficulties in fighting grow considerably with time.

The use of blankets on the spot of the accident is effective only if such a blanket can be made readily and rapidly available to those concerned, by means of simple movements requiring a minimum of physical effort so that they can be effected by a person, the faculties of which have already been impaired.

Several devices have been proposed for the storage and dispensing of such blankets, but all are either not sutficently simple of operation or require an appreciable physical effort, breakage of a seal, pulling action on the blanket to draw it out of the device etc.

The present invention is a device for dispensing emergency blankets, which, while permitting a prolonged storage of the blanket at the most likely spot, allows for an immediate availability simply and with the least physical exertion from a location of optimum usefulness.

The device is characterized in that, it comprises a metallic chest within which is disposed an accordion folded blanket and which is provided with a retractable bottom instantaneously operable by means of a string to liberate the blanket in a spread vertical position.

Simple and not costly to manufacture, the device of the invention can be used in great number in any given industrial establishment, where, located near the doors and indicated properly, it constitutes a very efiicient and nonalterable means for fighting against clothing fires and is immediately accessible for use.

The spreading of the blanket is effected immediately upon retraction of the bottom of the chest, solely by the action of its own weight, the blanket being retained along one of its edges, as for instance, at each extremity of the said edge, by means of clips: the pulling force F for disengaging from the clips being Slightly greater than the weight P of the blanket; therefore a very small external pulling force T, equal to (FP), on the blanket hanging from the clips, allows the user to liberate it from the dispensing device; the very small pull T may be applied after wrapping the affected person in the blanket, the person having already regained some of his faculties. This is-evidently not the case when the person has to exert appreciable efforts for spreading the blanket as per already known devices, because in such cases the flames have neither been choked nor reduced yet.

Preferably, the dispenser according to the invention is disposed fairly high in relation to the ground, the string being consequently of adequate length to be reached and actuated by the user; such emplacement allows the use of long blankets; furthermore, the dispenser can be disposed over a door, which allows for a more easily accomplished wrapping of the affected person because of the absence of a wall behind it.

vBy string, it is meant any device for transmitting a tension, be it soft or rigid, such as a textile rope or string, a metallic string or cable, a molding, that can be actuated easily by the user and producing the immediate retraction of the bottom of the chest.

Preferably, the bottom of the chest is locked in closed position and its opening is effected, after unlocking by means of the already explained actuation string of the previous paragraph, by the action of the blanket weight on the said bottom.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying schematic FIGURES l to 4, hereinafter will be described an example of an emergency blanket dispenser according to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of the dispensing device of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of the right side of the dispenser shown frontally in FIG. 1, and shows the bottom of the chest in alternately open and closed position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective View of the device showing the bottom in open position and the blanket hanging therethrough and ready for use.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the locking mechanism of the bottom of the chest.

The device of the invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a parallelepiped shaped chest I of folded and soldered sheet metal, provided with a bottom 2 that can open instantaneously, and a removable frontal side 3. The back side 4 has openings 5 for securing the chest to a wall, but this fixation can be realized by any known means. The front side 3 is a rectangular piece of sheet metal folded over along its upper edge to form an inverted gutter 6 which engages the corresponding right angle extension 7 of a piece of sheet metal that is folded to make up the top and back sides of the chest. The removable side 3 has a central opening 10 forming a window and protected by a plate of glass 29 supported by sliding channels 11.

As indicated hereinbefore, the chest 1 comprises a bottom 2, capable of opening instantaneously. This bottom consists of two shutters 12 and 13, shown on FIG. 2 in solid lines when closed and dotted lines when open. Made of sheet metal, the shutters depend respectively of axes 14 and 15 spanning the bottom longitudinal back and front edges of the chest 1 and supported at their extremities in holes driven in the lateral sides 9. Each of shutters 12 and 13 is folded along its edge opposite to the hinged articulation of the axes and for the pull length of that edge, in order to provide lips 16 and 17 respectively. Right angular locking means are provided at the ends of each of lips 16 and 17. The drawings show the right angular locking means 18 and 19 of the shutter 12 and the right angular locking means 20 of the shutter 13. The shutters are maintained in closed position by means of a locking system constituted by two U-shaped wires 21 and 22 and two groups of two right angular locking means, such as 19 and 20 for the wire 22, on which the wires are engaged. The closed end of wire 21 is slightly bent downward at 23 in order to clear the lips 16 and 17 and is attached to the emergency string 24 at that point. The closed end of the Wire 22 is also attached to the same string 24. The string 24 then passes through an appropriate guiding means 25, such as an eyelet or a pulley, to finally drop downward Within reach of the person using the device.

On each of the lateral sides 9 are adapted clips 25 and 26 respectively such as actuated by a spring 30. The clips are attached to sides 9 by means of, for instance, bolts and nuts 27.

The device of the invention is completed by the provision of an accordion folded blanket 28 within the chest where it lies on the shutters 12 and 13 maintained in closed position, by the wire locking elements 21 and 22. The top corners of the blanket are held by clips 25 and 26 respectively and the positioning is accomplished with ease by removing the frontal panel 3 by slidin g vertically upward.

By the Word blanket are meant any pliant materials diflicultly combustible and having the form of a sheet; in particular such blankets can be made of a cotton or wool textile and may or may not have been submitted to a previous fireproofing treatment.

At the instant of using, it is sufficient to flip the wire locking elements 21 and 22 out of position by pulling the free end of the string 24. Under the weight of the blanket the shutters 12 and 13 open instantaneously and the blanket drops to the unfolded or spread vertical position shown on FIG. 3. In that position it is ready for immediate use, a slight pull being sufficient to liberate it from the grip of clips 25 and 26.

It is seen from the above description that the invention makes possible the realization of a simple device which cannot fail to operate. Its efliciency will be increased if it is placed over or near the usual exit of a locale where prevail the hazards of clothing fires, the free end of the release string being brought within reach of the hand and indicated by a very visible sign board, When not in use the blanket is safely stored within the closed device and thereby protected from all damages and influences. A quick glance through the glassed aperture of the frontal side will serve as a periodical check that the device in loaded and ready to function. In the event of an accident, much precious time will be saved by the almost immediate use of a well kept blanket, presented in an unfolded manner and at a well indicated and known location.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A dispenser for an emergency fire and accident blanket comprising a metallic container for the blanket having a rear wall, side walls and a top wall, an upstanding front edge on said top wall, a removable front wall for said container, an upper overturned edge for said front wall receiving said upstanding edge and supporting said front Wall, a shutter, pivots for said shutter in said side walls adjacent the lower edge of said rear wall, a second shutter, pivots for said second shutter in said side Walls adjacent the lower edge of said front Wall, a lip extending the length of said first shutter, a lip extending the length of said second shutter, said lips being in engagement when said shutters close the bottom of said container, spaced locking surfaces on each of said lips extending at right angles thereto, locking elements embracing said lips and engaging said surfaces and flexible cable means connecting said locking elements for rapid manual removal thereof.

2. A dispenser for an emergency fire and accident blanket comprising a metallic container for the blanket having a rear wall, spaced side walls, a top wall and a front wall, a shutter, pivots for said shutter in said side Walls adjacent the lower edge of said rear wall, a second shutter, pivots for said second shutter in said side walls adjacent the lower edge of said front wall, a lip extending the length of said first shutter, a lip extending the length of said second shutter, said lips being in engagement when said shutters close the bottom of said container, spaced locking surfaces on said lips extending at right angles thereto, locking elements embracing said lips and engaging said surfaces and flexible cable means connecting said locking elements for rapid manual removal thereof.

3. A dispenser as described in claim 2 including means in said container for releasably gripping an edge of the blanket with the weight of the blanket resting on said shutters.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 819,956 Thomsen May 8, 1906 1,027,308 Bishop May 21, 1912 1,037,408 Baker Sept. 3, 1912 1,281,410 Miller Oct. 15, 1918 1,929,596 Marohn Oct. 10, 1933 2,118,994 Wade May 31, 1938 

